The Korea Times

LS C&S to introduce new communication cables

A worker uses LS C&S's new SimpleWide PoE wire for the computerizing system at the firm's headquarters in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, June 8. Courtesy of LS C&SBy Kim Jae-heunCables are evolving together with the development of the telecommunication industry, where 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) and big data are no longer seen as way off in the future. To keep up with emerging trends, LS Cable & System (C&S) is introducing various new cables, including carbon fiber wire, long-distance cables for Power Over Ethernet (PoE) and fiber-optic cables that can prevent cyberattacks.LS C&S signed a deal recently with ADT Caps to supply PoE wires, which send electricity through LAN cables with no need for a separate power line and outlet. This helps the security company to easily install digital surveillance cameras at parks or in buildings. The transmission distance of LS C&S's previous PoE wire only reached up to 100 meters. The cable manufacturer invented a new “SimpleWide” PoE cable that can transmit power to a maximum 200 meters, cutting construction costs

Jun 9, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

LS C&S to introduce new communication cables

Companies

Shake Shack's 16th restaurant in Korea

American fast food restaurant chain Shake Shack's new store is shown in this picture taken on June 7. Shake Shack opened its 16th restaurant in Korea at COEX Mall in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday, where there are a total of 117 tables for customers. Courtesy of SPC

Jun 8, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Bidding for eBay Korea to affect Yogiyo's sale

Lotte Shopping CEO Kang Hee-tae poses in his office at the company's headquarters in central Seoul, last Nov. 6. Courtesy of Lotte Shopping By Kim Jae-heunPotential buyers of the No.2 food delivery service Yogiyo are pulling their hair out over the main bidding for eBay Korea, which has turned into a showdown between Shinsegae and Lotte. The outcome of the takeover battle for eBay Korea is likely affect the bidding for Yogiyo, which is scheduled to begin next Thursday. Lotte ON's new CEO Na Young-ho / Courtesy of Lotte Shopping Lotte Shopping dropped out from the main bidding on Yogiyo last month to concentrate on the acquisition deal for eBay Korea. However, if the retail giant fails to take over the American e-commerce firm, it may return to compete for Yogiyo. Morgan Stanley, an underwriter for the sale of Yogiyo, has opened the door for Lotte to

Jun 8, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Bidding for eBay Korea to affect Yogiyo's sale

Companies

Shinsegae, Lotte compete in eBay Korea bid

Ebay Korea's corporate logo is seen at the American e-commerce firm's Korean office in Seoul, March 16. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunE-commerce arms of retail giants Lotte and Shinsegae joined the bid, Monday, for eBay Korea, hoping a successful acquisition can propel the winning bidder to market dominance.However, two out of four preexisting contenders ― local private equity fund MBK Partners and the country's largest mobile carrier SKT ― dropped their bids at the last minute.The two potential buyers, along with Lotte's Lotte ON and Shinsegae's SSG.com, had been shortlisted to vie for the acquisition of eBay Korea, the country's third-largest ecommerce player.Lotte and Shinsegae have also been showing interest in acquiring eBay Korea despite its 5 trillion won ($4.49 billion) price tag. Shinsegae and Lotte both operate online retail platforms focusing on fresh food and luxury items, seeking to compete with top-tier online sales platforms like Naver and Coupang. However, Naver and Coupang are so far ahead of Shinsegae and Lotte that either of the underdogs would have to acquire eBay Korea to

Jun 7, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Shinsegae, Lotte compete in eBay Korea bid

Companies

Louis Vuitton may pull out of duty free shops in Korea

Louis Vuitton's duty free store at Incheon International Airport. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunFrench fashion house, Louis Vuitton, one of the world's three major luxury brands along with Chanel and Hermes, is contemplating closing its duty free shops in downtown areas of Seoul, according to recent reports.Instead, the high-end fashion brand will expand its stores in airports.The Moodie Davitt Report, a British publisher specializing in reports on the duty free and travel retail industries, said, “French luxury house Louis Vuitton is progressively withdrawing from much of its downtown duty free business ― including its long-standing and expensive Korean presence.”When questioned about the validity of the report, a local PR agency representing Louis Vuitton Korea said it was not in a position to comment.Various reasons are said to have led to Louis Vuitton's decision, but its determination to retain the brand's premium image is apparently the main reason.Many luxury brands place priority on the scarcity of their products in order to make them more valuable. There is even a popular

Jun 5, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Louis Vuitton may pull out of duty free shops in Korea

Companies

Coupang prepares to launch service in Japan

Coupang's delivery vehicles at a parking lot in Seoul on April 25. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunCoupang launched its first delivery service in Japan Thursday, marking the first step for Korea's largest online retailer to take on the ecommerce market in the neighboring country, which is the world's fourth largest. The launch came months after Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son revealed his plan to reporters in March to bring Coupang to Japan.Currently, Coupang is delivering products on a trial basis only in Tokyo's Shinagawa District and customers are able to place orders for food and other daily necessity items through a mobile application.Coupang confirmed that it started offering delivery service in Japan.Coupang is only making short-distance deliveries in Japan for now. It set up a small distribution center in Shinagawa and all of the items are go out for delivery from there. Also, the online retailer hired delivery workers through a local agency unlike in Korea, where it employees drivers directly.There is no overnight delivery service in Japan and Coupang said it wants to apply customized

Jun 4, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Coupang prepares to launch service in Japan

Companies

Renault Samsung to restart XM3 production for export

People work on assembly at the Renault Samsung Motors plant in Busan in this 2019 file photo. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunRenault Samsung Motors, the Korean unit of Renault S.A., will reopen its sole plant in Busan, after unionized workers returned to the factory following a month-long strike, and resumed a two-shift workday.The company withdrew its workplace closure Tuesday, a day before the workers returned, as it intends to increase production of XM3 cars, which will be exported ― from various plants ― to 24 additional countries.Previously, the vehicle was only exported to France, Germany and Spain starting in March, but Renault sold over 9,000 of the cars, surpassing its original target of 7,250. The unionized workers returned to their jobs after union negotiators failed to find common ground with management after one year. According to the Labor Relations Adjustment Act, if union representatives cannot reach an agreement with the company after more than a year, leaders of other unions can request to negotiate with the firm. The current union started negotiations with Renault

Jun 3, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Renault Samsung to restart XM3 production for export

Tech & Science

Employee's death to affect Naver's ESG evaluation

Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunInformation technology giant Naver may lose valuable points in its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) evaluation following the suicide of one of its employees on April 25.Naver has been praised for excelling in the “social” and “corporate governance” criteria of ESG principles due to its pursuit of egalitarian corporate culture.A survey by the Korea Corporate Governance Service last year awarded the online platform the highest grade of A+ in corporate governance among the top 10 largest companies in terms of market capitalization. Naver also received an A for its environmental and social criteria, which is one level up from the previous year.The Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA also ranked Naver second among Asian internet firms in a report evaluating ESG criteria in March. “Naver established a union in 2018 and it implemented strict policies to protect customers' personal information, which helped the company avoid getting embroiled in serious incidents.

Jun 3, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Employee's death to affect Naver's ESG evaluation

Leadership vacuum looms at Naver Financial following suicide scandal

Companies

GS fires senior exec. over alleged sexist marketing

By Kim Jae-heunFormer GS Retail President Cho Yoon-sungLocal retail firm GS Retail demoted its President Cho Yoon-sung and transferred its marketing chief from their positions for releasing an ad-poster that contained allegedly sexist content. GS Retail Vice President Oh Jin-seong has replaced Cho as of Tuesday.Cho, who had been leading both GS25's convenience store chain and platform business units until Monday, is now only leading the latter. The marketing chief was transferred to a different team.The company also took disciplinary action against the staff member who designed the promotional material.“The punishment was given privately so we don't know what kind of disciplinary action was taken against the designer,” a GS Retail official said. “Cho has been removed from the president position of the convenience store chain as part of the company's regular personnel realignment.”The retail company's decision came almost a month after Cho apologized over the controversial poster showing a drawing of a hand trying to grab a small sausage between finger and thum

May 31, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

GS fires senior exec. over alleged sexist marketing

Companies

McDonald's bets W10 billion on BTS

BTS fans take photos with The BTS Meal at a McDonald's in Seoul on May 27. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-keeBy Kim Jae-heunMcDonald's has recently introduced its latest celebrity menu collaboration with BTS. BTS, which CNN called “the biggest boy band in the world” in 2019, is one of the most expensive celebrity spokesmodels at the same time.For domestic endorsements only, the boy band is paid between 3 billion won ($2.69 million) and 5 billion won ($4.48 million), according to an industry source. McDonald's ads target about 50 countries around the world and BTS is set to receive about 10 billion won for participating in the U.S. fast food franchise's promotion. BTS's partnership with the burger brand seems to be paying off given the boy band's solid fan base around the world. Plus, the tie-up is expected to be a huge plus for McDonald's brand image, which had once been tainted because of quality issues.McDonald's short-term goal is to promote the brand image and draw in the boy band's 34 million fans. “We are delighted to introduce McDonald's new menu item in coll

May 30, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

LS C&S to introduce new communication cables

Shake Shack's 16th restaurant in Korea

Bidding for eBay Korea to affect Yogiyo's sale

Shinsegae, Lotte compete in eBay Korea bid

Louis Vuitton may pull out of duty free shops in Korea

Coupang prepares to launch service in Japan

Renault Samsung to restart XM3 production for export

Employee's death to affect Naver's ESG evaluation

GS fires senior exec. over alleged sexist marketing

McDonald's bets W10 billion on BTS

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